The Lead with Jake Tapper

Coronavirus cases trend up in 25 states, steady in 22 states, down in only three states; Trump returns to Oval office despite infection, briefed on stimulus and hurricane; Meadows and Scavino with Trump in Oval Office, wearing protective gear; Two top aides with infected Trump in Oval Office; Tampa International Airport to offer Covid tests to all passengers       To learn more about how CNN prote...

Trump’s physician: Trump reports no symptoms, doing “extremely well”; No signs Trump’s battle with coronavirus has changed his views of virus; Officials: Trump to record video message today, no plans for live address; Trump again falsely claims COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu; Critics attack Trump for maskless, balcony photo-op; Infected GOP Sen: I’ll vote in a “moon suit” to confirm Barrett;...

Trump tweets that he’s leaving hospital tonight; Trump’s doctor: president to leave hospital even though he “may not be entirely out of the woods yet”; New CNN poll: 63% say Trump irresponsibly handled the risk of virus infection to others around him; Only 30% of Americans trust most of what they hear from White House about Trump’s health; 60% disapprove of Trump’s handling of pandemic; 51% of Ame...

Trump campaigned despite top aide being symptomatic; WH Press Secy: President Trump being treated with Regeneron antibody cocktail; Concern over COVID exposure inside White House; WH: Trump has “mild symptoms” after positive COVID-19 test; Pelosi spokesperson: Speaker tests negative for COVID-19; WH Press Secy: President is “fatigued but in good spirits”; Source: President Trump has had a fever si...

Source: “It may eventually sink in” Trump didn’t do well in debate; Trump fails again to denounce white supremacy; WH won’t directly denounce white supremacy, says Trump didn’t misspeak; Top Senate Republican urges Trump to condemn white supremacy; WH won’t commit that Trump will agree to new debate rules; Trump claims debate victory, asks “why would I allow” rules to change; Barrett signed a righ...

Trump claims he doesn’t know who Proud Boys are, now says “stand down” after telling far-right group to “stand by”; CNN goes inside a Proud Boys rally in Portland; Far-right group celebrates Trump debate shout-out; Biden calls Trump’s debate performance a “national embarrassment”; Biden: hope debate commission can control Trump’s behavior; Biden: Trump “looks down on us”; Trump refuses to dissuade...

Sources: Debate could get personal with attacks over candidates’ children; Trump & Biden to debate amid deadly pandemic, suffering economy, reckoning on racism & Supreme Court battle; Trump yet to dispute figures in NYT report that show he paid little to no taxes in last decade; Sources: Biden, Trump practicing ways to get under each other’s skin; NYC reopens elementary schools today for in-person...

NYT: Trump squandered millions, faces crippling debt, Trump & his company wrote off $70k for hairstyling, $750k to Ivanka Trump for consulting fees; NYT: Trump has reduced tax bill with “questionable” measures, including a $72.9 million tax refund, Trump owes 300 million in loans, due within four years; Trump denies NYT investigation, says he was “entitled, like everyone else, too depreciation & t...

Meadows attacks FBI Dir for saying there’s no massive voter fraud; Barr briefed Trump on probe of discarded ballots; Surge of ballot requests already setting records; NC Republicans accuse Dems of trying to make fraud easier; New York creates panel to review every FDA approved vaccine; Key model projects 371,000 deaths in U.S. by January 1 with 3,000 deaths daily; Virginia governor and wife test p...

Trump says he doesn’t know if election can be “honest” after refusing to commit to peaceful transfer of power; Trump, GOP claim his comments no worse than Hillary Clinton saying Biden shouldn’t concede; Pennsylvania AG battling Trump, GOP in court over mail-in voting; FBI state attorneys investigating after nine ballots cast for Trump were found discarded in Pennsylvania; Trump claims he could ove...

No officers charged directly with Breonna Taylor’s death; New Covid cases trending up in 22 states; Fauci and Sen. Paul spar over herd immunity; CDC: thousands of flights may have been exposed to Covid; Redfield grilled over controversial CDC testing guidance; Surgeon General: “the virus doesn’t care about your politics”     To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/priv...

Fauci: Reaching 200,000 deaths is “stunning” & “very sobering”; NFL fines 3 coaches $100,000 for not wearing masks; World’s largest vaccine maker: Vaccinating entire world against COVID-19 won’t happen until 2024; U.S. averaging more than 800 virus deaths per day; New virus cases rising in 24 states, steady in 20, declining in 6; Fauci: Reasonable to assume virus spread by aerosol; Source: Confida...

Biden: Trump “froze, he failed to act, he panicked” about COVID-19; Biden slams Trump o pandemic as U.S. approaches 200,000 deaths; Trump: will announce pick for court Friday or Saturday; choices narrowed down to five people; McConnell: Trump’s nominee “will receive a vote”; Supreme court vacancy could upend presidential, senate races; Trump claims U.S. is rounding the corner on pandemic despite 4...

At crowded rally, Trump mocks social distancing, says staying at home is like being in prison; Sources: Controversial CDC testing guidance not written by scientists, came from HHS without normal scientific review; WaPo: White House nixed plan to distribute 650 million face masks to U.S. households; Biden campaigning in key battleground state of Minnesota; Trump says he’s “looking at a lot of diffe...

Ex-WH official: Trump said “maybe this COVID thing is a good thing” because I don’t like shaking hands with “disgusting” people; Former top Pence staffer calls Trump presidency “terrifying”, says she will be voting for Biden ; WH Sr. official denies Trump would say COVID-19 might be a good thing so he doesn’t have to shake hands ; WH Sr. official on former aide rebuking Trump: Troye never expresse...

Biden: we can’t allow politics to interfere with a vaccine; Biden: if I have authority, I’ll sign executive order for mask mandate; President Trump again claims virus will “go away”; Pelosi defends negotiations as some Dems raise concerns; New study: minorities face higher deaths due to racism, discrimination; Sally batters Gulf Coast with record rain, extensive damage         To learn more about...

Trump continues optimistic tone as U.S. nears 200k virus deaths; Most people at WH event not tested for coronavirus; Trump retweets baseless smear against Joe Biden; Hundreds of guests at packed WH event, masks optional; Politico: Some Dems break with Biden, resume door-knocking; Dem Senate candidate under attack for saying he would be “hesitant” to receive coronavirus vaccine; Trump: Diplomatic a...

Trump claims “I on’t think science knows” planet is warming; Trump defies coronavirus science & states restrictions, holds packed indoor rally with few masks and no social distancing; Trump in August insisted two Woodward “nothing more could have been done” to contain coronavirus; Trump heads to Arizona for indoor event in room packed with chairs tied together; Trump points to lack of forest manag...

Fauci: We need to “hunker down” to get through fall & winter; Fauci: We may not get back to our normal lives until end of 2021; Operation Warp Speed Chief: race for coronavirus vaccine has “nothing to do with politics”; CDC Study: Adults who test positive for virus about twice as likely to have recently dined at a restaurant; Biden, Pence meet at 9/11 memorial in New York City; Trump: “I didn’t li...

Trump defends telling public COVID-19 was like flu, after telling Woodward it was much deadlier; Trump tries to defect blame onto Woodward after downplaying virus; Joe Biden on Trump concealing coronavirus threat: “It’s disgusting”; Biden says Trump has no concept of what constitutes national security after Trump claimed U.S. is developing secret nuclear weapons system; Biden: Trump shouldn’t be C...

Trump on downplaying Covid-19 risks: we don’t want a panic.. we don’t want people to be frightened; Trump now claims he didn’t want to create a panic after Woodward tapes reveal he intentionally downplayed Covid-19; Biden: Trump committed “life and death betrayal” of American people;       To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices...

Fauci acknowledges skepticism around vaccine: “We’ve got to regain the trust of the community”; 16 of the largest U.S. school districts start today, 14 online; Biontech CEO: Could submit vaccine to FDA by mid-Oct.; More than 37,000 cases reported at U.S. colleges; Trump on whether he’d fund campaign: “If I have to, I would”; NYT: Trump Campaign war chest “dwindling”; Trump to expand oil drilling m...

Trump accuses Biden, Harris of undermining science as he teases a vaccine by election day; Harris says she would not trust Trump on a vaccine, Trump says Harris should apologize for “anti-vaccine rhetoric”; Trump: will have vaccine “very soon, maybe even before a very special date… you know what I’m talking about”; Biden says se wants effective vaccine regardless of election consequences; Biden: “...

FDA rejects coronavirus therapeutic pushed by Trump-supporting MyPillow CEO; Sources: Trump pressuring FDA for silver bullet by election; Limit data on Russia’s vaccine released; Model projects 3,000 Americans a day will die in December; Trump attacked McCain in 2015: “He’s not a war hero”; Trump’s long history of attacking military families; NYT: Bolton says he didn’t hear Trump insult fallen tro...

Fauci warns cases are “unacceptably high” as Labor Day approaches; Pfizer CEO predicts vaccine trial may have results in October; Fauci: More data needed to prove how effective plasma is as treatment; Drugmakers: No “magic bullet” that will contain COVID; Fauci: Vaccine by October is “unlikely, not impossible”; Biden in Kenosha: Words of a president matter; Biden spoke with Jacob Blake on the phon...